Google hires Vint Cerf away from MCI

Cerf, 62, whose official title will be chief Internetevangelist, was hired away from telecommunications company MCI Inc. and charged with exploring new Internet applications for the Web search company. MCI is in the process of merging into Verizon Communications Inc.

In an interview, Cerf, also chairman of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the governance body, said he hoped to retain the role in ICANN and avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. Google serves as a registrar of Internet domain names and technically has business interests governed by ICANN.

Cerf is widely known as the “father of the Internet” for his role in developing the TCP/IP standards that structure the Internet, joins several other high-profile engineers who have joined Google in the last year.